The Pentagon updated its guidelines for fitness and composition programs on March 10. This change allows each service to revise their own policies as needed. This is a movement that services have been consistently working on in recent years.
The latest update to DoD Order 1308.03, following ongoing research from the Marine Corps and the Army, has removed many of the department’s restrictive terms first mentioned in the program. This update generalizes the goal of allowing the branch to tailor its guidelines to the needs of service members and missions as closely as possible.
“You can evaluate your body composition using body fat percentage, waist-to-height ratio, waist circumference, height-weight screening, or any combination of them,” service members set specific criteria under each option. As long as you meet, the regulation is currently read.
Therefore, if a branch decides to use a body fat calculation method such as Bod Pod, a device that measures a person’s weight and volume to determine body density, service members will remain within a certain percentage of body fat. All you have to do is do.
The composition table used by each branch will be updated after the service develops new policies and provides feedback to the department, but female service members should not exceed 36% and male service members. Must not exceed 26%. Body fat. In addition, branches that set a minimum body fat limit of less than 26% for women and less than 18% for men are not allowed.
If the branch decides to rely on the height-weight screening table instead, the policy states that service members must meet body mass index criteria of 27.5 or less and the minimum limit is not allowed below a BMI of 19. It is obligatory.
With regard to the use of taping methods, which have been strongly criticized in the past, it is now up to the service how branches choose tapes, as long as the method is scientifically proven to be effective and accurate.
For example, body composition decisions that rely on abdomen or waist circumference should use a reference index backed by evidence of height correction so as not to unduly affect short or tall service members. there is.
According to Laurel Tingley, Head of Media Operations for the Air Force, the branch is currently developing plans based on the new waist-to-height ratio policy following the 1308.03 update. She said the Air Force should plan later this year.
Physical fitness tests were also previously required by the Pentagon as a whole, but previous versions of the policy suggested running, abs, chin-ups, and other exercises. The update removes all languages, including certain options for testing.
This means that each branch will be free to govern and can be tested if the fitness level of the service member is deemed appropriate. This is an Army attempt, whether it involves running or crunching, or has fewer options to induce injuries. Over the past few years with their updated Army Combat Fitness Test.
Lt. Col. Lisa Masters, an Army Reserve officer, welcomed the change, saying she was struggling with body composition standards throughout her career, despite her excellent fitness score.
“I have been promoting this [policy update] From bottom to top, as far as I can remember, “the Masters told the Military Times.
The “general story” quoted by the master in responding to the change is “a girl who was sent to Iraq in 2018 and was dehydrated in the gym for 24 hours without water or food, wearing a body wrap. Cardio wants to hand over the tape after seeing him die. Same gym, another day, and everyone lined up to use a neck-strengthening device. The muscles built are football players and wrestlers. , And help those who want to pass the tape, but the fitness value is zero. “
According to her, both stories are examples of the bad behavior that current body fat standards are driving, and why this change is so much needed.
The policy also specifies that fitness level tests should only be done at least once a year and does not indicate that the assessment should be a literal test. The branch hopes to pave the way for a future in which service members are allowed to serve as long as they are proficient and healthy at work.
The latest branch plans to potentially eliminate a single specific annual test. Instead, a “traffic light” that regularly determines a parent’s fitness in green, yellow, or red, based on various factors that can be monitored and recorded daily by wearing something along the Garmin line. “Like” program is starting. Or FitBit.
“Parents with Fit Rankings technology can create personalized profiles that connect to wearables or apps, provide fitness data within the platform for any activity, and enable data standardization,” the Space Force said. Fit Rankings contracted for said in March. 14 releases.
“Parents’ wearables provide real-time data and insights that enable parents to track the progress of their fitness goals, optimize programming, and instantly evaluate physical readiness criteria.”
This allows Space Force to meet regulatory requirements to test the fitness level of service members at least annually without actually forcing them to train alone for a particular test event. ..
The updated policy also indicates that the branch should create tests based on professional requirements. This means that people in more physically demanding areas such as infantry and artillery may be evaluated differently than specialized areas such as intelligence and government, but each area is at some point in the year. It should be evaluated at a standardized level in.
Each branch is required to submit a report on physical fitness and composition statistics for service members in the previous calendar year. The first report is due on June 1, 2022.
Rachel is a Marine Veteran, a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, and a Master’s degree in Business and Economic Reporting from New York University.
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